LeBron remains calm, confident despite series deficit

By Jason Lloyd

Akron Beacon Journal (TNS)

CHICAGO

The Cavaliers are trailing in a crucial series with another road game ahead, one star is lost for the postseason, another is limping and LeBron James is struggling to make a shot. Yet the four-time Most Valuable Player isn’t wavering in his belief of what this Cavs team can accomplish.

“I’ve still got really high hopes for this team,” James said Saturday at the team hotel. “I think what we have, we could still compete at a high level.”

So much has gone wrong for the Cavs the past two weeks it would seem difficult not to be discouraged. From Kevin Love’s shoulder injury to J.R. Smith’s suspension, a strained groin for Iman Shumpert and the latest revelation, Kyrie Irving’s strained right foot that dramatically hindered his impact in Game 3, the Cavs have endured plenty of tough shots.

Not to mention Derrick Rose’s actual shot, a banked 3-pointer at the buzzer Friday to give the Chicago Bulls a 2-1 series lead in these Eastern Conference semifinals.

But James remains calm and relaxed despite the deficit, mustering a couple laughs in the locker room Friday night after the loss and offering a realistic scouting report, referring to his 3-point shooting in this series as “terrible.”

Even in the face of adversity, with so many playoff rookies staring in his direction, James is doing his best not to show any cracks.

“As leader of the team, I can’t be down about anything,” he said. “Even though it hurts me to lose (Friday) night, I hate losing. It was tough for me to sleep, but I’m not going to be shattered, not around these guys. They need my leadership now more than ever, more than anybody on our team. I will not show any weakness.”

The players convened late Friday night for a dinner at the team hotel after the game and coach David Blatt canceled practice on Saturday, replacing court time with film and yoga sessions. The late ending Friday, coupled with an afternoon game on Sunday, left Blatt wanting to get the players off their feet. That’s especially true of Irving, who struggled through the foot injury to score 11 points. He missed 11 of his last 12 shots Friday and did not have an assist in a game for the second time this season.

Irving has a reputation as one of the best finishers around the rim. He converted 57 percent of his shots around the basket during the regular season, but he went 0-for-7 there on Friday and even referred to himself as a decoy.

“Just one of those nights where there was no lift or anything that I had at the basket,” Irving said. “Whether it’s the injury, mental fatigue, physical fatigue, it’s just inches to the left, inches to the right. Shots you’re used to making it’s one of those nights and you just have to forget about it.”

Irving injured the foot in Game 2 of the series against the Boston Celtics, but kept it quiet. He shot just 3-of-11 in Game 3 against the Celtics and acknowledged after the game he had no acceleration, but didn’t mention the injury.

The week off between series seemed to help, but Irving stepped on another player’s foot early Friday and rolled his right ankle, which also exacerbated the foot problem. The Cavs denied during the game there was anything wrong with Irving’s ankle, then after the game acknowledged he had imaging done on his foot within the past week. He was diagnosed with a strained foot.

“That’s Basketball 101 when you start playing. You’re trying not to limp, you’re trying not to let anyone know,” Irving said. “But now we’re at the highest level. There are no secrets.”